Where Are You Christmas?
by Aurora Snowstorm
Summary: My first HP fanfic: A songfic Set back in the time when the marauders, etc. went to Hogwarts. Three characters muse over their Christmas and Christmas in general. Read and review please, let me know if I'm any good at HP fiction. Happy Holidays to all!


Severus Snape sat by his bedroom window that overlooked his front yard. It was the day before Christmas, the day when his father, Soborus Snape had friends over and drank whiskey till dawn. The day Severus wasn't allowed inside the house until eight Christmas morning.

It was still light outside, but Severus knew in less than an hour that his father's friends would start to arrive. Soborus and all his drinking buddies hated Christmas, all known as the Grinches of their own hometowns. So that's why they got together ever year, to hate and loath the Christmas season as a group.

Putting on his boots, Severus wondered what this whole Christmas thing was about anyway. What happened to make the other students at Hogwarts so exited about this time of year? Slowly, he grabbed his coat and walked outside into the cool crisp evening air. The snow below his feet crunched as he walked away from his house.

It was cold, Severus could see his breath in the air; white and smoky. He wrapped his coat more tightly around himself and shuddered. Maybe, I'll walk all the way to town this year, he thought looking ahead at the slowly setting sun. Cars began to drive by him and they honked their horns loudly as they did every year. Snape wondered if he'd find something out about this Christmas that seemed to be hated so much by his father and his father's friends, yet made everyone else seem so happy.

"*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*"

__

Where are you Christmas?

Why can't I find you?

Why have you gone away?

"*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*"

Remus Lupin sat on his bed, staring at the ceiling above him. Christmas just wasn't going to be the same. Every year, until now, his entire family; aunts, uncles, cousins; would come and celebrate the season with his parents and him. However, this year they weren't coming. They weren't coming because they were afraid…of him.

It was all because of what happened last year. His family had arrived early as a surprise, but not a very welcoming one, because at the time the full moon was out. His youngest cousin, Annie had happened downstairs somehow, though Remus' father swears the door was locked, and witnessed Remus in mid transformation. She started screaming and crying hysterically and the whole family came running. Now they finally knew who he really was.

It brought tears to Remus's eyes to remember the frightened stares of the people he loved, bearing into him the very next morning. His parents tried to explain to the family that, besides that time once a month, Remus was the same boy they had always known and loved. After all, he'd been a werewolf for quite some time already, just without the rest of the family knowing. 

Remus sighed and curled up in his bed, holding back tears of rage. He hated the werewolf in him, hated it as much as it was possible for him to hate. This Christmas just wouldn't be the same.

"*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*"

__

Where is the laughter,

You used to bring me?

Why can't I hear the music play?

My world is changing,

I'm rearranging, 

Does that mean Christmas changes too?

"*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*"

Lily Evans sat by her vanity table, looking at herself in the mirror as she brushed out her hair. She couldn't believe she was spending Christmas Eve alone. Her mother was at a formal party for one of her charities and her father was on a business trip. She sighed slowly, and Petunia thinks I'm a freak, she thought.

Setting down her brush for a moment, Lily eyed the letter from James she'd gotten yesterday.

'Hope your Christmas is merry and bright…

Mine is blue because I'm not with you. 

Hope you don't mind my horrible poetry, but it tells the truth.

Luv, James'

Lily smiled and then thought of the letter she wrote back to him. Telling him she hoped he had a good Christmas too and how much this Christmas was different and how lonely she felt. 

It seemed that ever since she started going to Hogwarts, Christmases just weren't the same. Her dad had gotten a new time consuming job and her mother had become more part of society, joining charity works and clubs. This would be fine, if it didn't take their time away from the family.

Lily sighed again, what happened to Christmas, she wondered.

"*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*"

__

Where are you Christmas?

Do you remember,

The one you used to know?

I'm not the same one,

See what the time's done,

Is that why you have let me go?

"*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*"

The night was lit with stars shining more brightly than Severus had ever seen before. He couldn't believe that he'd walked the several miles to town. Ahead of him, he saw it shining and sparkling in the distance.

He began to walk towards it, when he heard a sound unlike anything he'd heard before. It was a soft, low sound, but beautiful…and surprisingly he liked it. The sound was coming from his left and he felt himself following it, despite the fact he had no idea where it would lead him.

As he got closer the sound got slowly louder, Severus saw a steeple ahead of him. It was a church and the sound was that of human voices singing. Soon, he was standing right next to the tall, white church, which was covered in snow.

The doors were closed, but Severus wanted to get inside, even though he felt like he wouldn't belong. Slowly, he opened the large mahogany doors and found himself in a gigantic room, stained glass windows lined the walls and candles lit the way in. The atmosphere inside the room was so joyful Severus was overcome. The many people inside stood in pews and were singing from red books in their hands. Severus took a place in the very back so he wouldn't be seen and listened to the beautiful sound everyone's voices made together. As the song slowed to an end, Severus wondered if maybe this was what made Christmas so great.

"*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*"

Remus had fallen slowly asleep when a knock from downstairs woke him abruptly. His parents were still awake, so he wasn't worried about answering the door, but who could be there at this hour? Not sure what to think, Lupin snuck out of his bedroom and to the stair rail where he could easily see what was happening.

He watched as his parents cautiously approached the door. There was another knock, before Remus's father reached out and opened it.

" Surprise!" Came a chorus of loud voices from outside.

Wide eyed and shocked, Remus watched as his entire family made their way into the doorway, hugging his parents, smiling, laughing, and carrying trays and trays of food, just as he always remembered them doing.

Then he watched as his cousin Annie stepped forward with her tray of cookies, her blue eyes looking up slowly at her aunt and uncle, " We're all very sorry, aunty and uncle. We realized that we are still family, no matter what."

And Remus smiled, here's the Christmas I remember, he thought, before running downstairs to join them.

"*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*"

Lily looked at all the snow outside and up at all the stars in the sky, she had decided to sit out on her porch a while, sipping a mug of hot cocoa. She looked out at her side yard at the still empty driveway and sighed. Even with all the snow, presents, music, and the tree inside, it just didn't feel like Christmas.

" Lily." A voice said from the front of her porch.

She turned around to see James Potter standing before her, with a neatly wrapped present in his hand. Her mouth opened in amazement and she quickly ran over to where he stood, nearly spilling her mug of cocoa on her way.

After they had hugged, Lilly looked carefully at him, " James, how on earth did you get here?"

He smiled, happy with her reaction to him, " My parents have family near here. We were visiting them for Christmas, but I didn't tell you because I wanted to pay you a surprise visit."

" Thank you." She whispered hugging him again, not knowing what else to say.

And as the two sat on Lily's front porch, staring out at the stars and talking, Lily felt like Christmas had finally come.

"*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*"

__

I feel you Christmas.

I think I found you.

You never fade away.

The joy of Christmas,

Stays here inside us

Fills each and every heart

With…love.

Where are you Christmas?

I know I found you.

"*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*"

Distribution: I don't own the characters or the song that this story was inspired by. The characters are J.K. Rowlings and the song is sung by Faith Hill and can be found on The Grinch soundtrack.

Author's Notes: Much of this is left up to your imagination. What year this was, etc. If your wondering why Snape didn't just stay at Hogwarts, I'm thinking that they might not have always allowed that. Maybe there was a different headmaster than Dumbledore for part of the groups schooling and he closed Hogwarts completely during this time; the only exception being teachers and students with a legitimate (don't you hate that word, legitimate?) excuse. Maybe his father made him come home to not seem too suspicious, I don't know it's up to what you want to believe really. 

Anywho, hope this isn't too early for Christmas stories, but I was inspired after listening to the song and I really wanted to write an HP fic, I just had no story idea that I thought would work. And then I came up with this and it was hallelujah for me! LoL. Well, review please, especially if you enjoyed or have criticism. Or have a good Snape fic I could read I've been looking for more Snape fics to read. 

Have a merry season in general, no matter what you celebrate or don't celebrate! : ) 

__


End file.
